Trekking Base Torres sin almuerzo

Connie was an incredible guide and seemed to have a good feel for the pace of our group. The hike itself is beautiful, and the payoff at the end is worth the effort. The total time was under 8 hours, which included multiple stops to rest and take a break. Paths can be crowded, but not so much to make it unenjoyable. If you are physically able to make the trek, don’t hesitate to book this tour; it was an all-around good experience.

We did a Base Torres hike with Patagonia Planet. These were some of the most spectacular views we have ever seen. Our tour guides, Carlos and Chris, were experienced, friendly, and helpful to both us and the other people on this trip. Please note, this is a pretty tough trip. It is for people with hiking experience only, but the views and scenery are more than worth it. The box lunch we were provided was excellent, a delicious salmon sandwich, accompanied with gorp, chocolate, and an energy snack for snacking along the way. They supplied the trekking poles which were very helpful on the ascents, so no need to bring those from home.

We went up Base Torres with Matias, great guide. Cautious, caring and very responsible. I recommend him 100%. His proffesional approach to trekking in such extreme weather is trully commendable.

I went with my friend. We were 5 but Matthias the guide, polite, cautious. The weather was with rain snow for stretches, and wind. At each stage the guide asked us how we were to continue. At the last stop due to the weather with rain and wind and the recommendation was to return and with the group, 4 wanted to return. Thank you for taking care of us, the wonderful experience. The weather is indomitable in the mountains. The beautiful landscape.

"It is a waste of time to go through Patagonia in a hurry" John Paul, guide. Yes! Stress trekking! And how better than with Patagonia Planet! Trekking is challenging and you must walk at a certain speed to ensure you are on base long enough and return on time. We did it in autumn and it is beautiful with the weather and colors. Thank you very much to Juan Pablo, our guide! His follow-up before and during the excursion was very satisfactory. From the morning there was a lot of punctuality and was always very clear with the expectations of the day. Also, he was very attentive, I was carrying the flu and always made sure I was okay. Not just me, but the whole group. The team that touched us was great! And Don Luis, the driver, is ready for Fast and Furious ;) In short, we enjoyed the day!

The tour guide left me behind because I couldn't keep up with the group. Did the entire hike solo. Found the tour group in the parking lot afterwards. Wouldn't recommend.

We booked 3 tours with Patagonia planet, but I'm going to leave them all in this one review (which primarily revolves around the Trekking). Patagonia Planet was very organized and responsive. Just make sure you have Whatsapp. Every booking with any place in Chile always communicated through Whatsapp (they'll hand your number to many staff who personally message you). Full day Torres Del Paine - we canceled due to illness, but they still dropped off the lunches we paid for at our hotel! On another day we took our rental car and followed their itinerary. It was beautiful! If you have a rental car you may enjoy it at your own pace, however. Grey Glacier - turns out there's only one boat in the park, so any Grey Glacier tour you book looks like it's getting subcontracted to the same place. Great half day tour that leaves you time to drive around the park the rest of the day. Hiking to the Towers - beautiful hike. Not many places in the world with views that can compare. It will not disappoint. We had 2 guides (Mauricio, the not-so-nice guy, and Sam, the amazingly nice guy) plus a driver for 10 people, so a pretty good ratio. The climb is challenging and the hill is busy. Several hundred people, both groups and independent hikers, traveling in both directions all day long. Our guides were both very knowledgeable about the pacing. They knew that you had to reach certain points by certain times and if you did not you were not going to finish the second half of the hike on the way down. I understand and respect that. There's no way to really get lost with the volume of people hiking, so the pacing is the real reason to have a guide. The lead guide (Mauricio) told us we'd be "hiking the pace of a 70 year old", but the the first 40% of the way up the hill he really pushed the pace. I was on my honeymoon with wife who was on the slower end of the group, although still keeping up with the 4-5 hour pace advertised for the ascent. I saw what Mauricio was trying to do by the time we got to the top: he pushed the slower part of the group as fast as he could knowing the last hour of ascent was the toughest incline and terrain. This left loads of time for breaks during that section. What I didn't appreciate was his attitude. He understandably asked the slowest pair in our group (a mother/daughter pair) to go with Sam on a shorter hike because he witnessed that they would not make it with their fatigue. He also had concerns about my wife, who was the next slowest person (although again, still keeping pace with the timing). What I didn't appreciate, was how this many addressed my wife. He kept making jokes encouraging her to quit, pointing out to her that the others in our group were thinner than her, and joking about how she wasn't going to make it. She was very direct with him and told him she didn't come this far to not summit and he continued to poke fun. While he did allow the rest of the group to march ahead for the last hour while he helped her up difficult parts of the climb, he was completely unbearable until that point. For the record, she reached the top just within the 5 hours advertised. On the way down, he kept teasing her that he really didn't believe she wasn't going to make it up there. On top of this, he was just awful company. The only things he could talk about were how he was an alcoholic, references to other drugs he likely does (cocaine, cannabis, etc.), telling us how his wife of 20 years divorced him because he was immature (took us 20 minutes to figure that out), and bragging about how his girlfriend of 6 years was 30, nearly 30 full years younger than him. Had he not been our ride home (and not concerned me that he was the type of guy who would leave us behind if we were to bite back at his attitude), I would have told him to get lost. At the end of the hike, while buying my wife and myself extra waters, he had the nerve to force a beer in my hand and insist that I owed him one. Don't get me wrong, he knew his stuff. I understood his concern with my wife's pace (despite her eventually making it). He was absolutely unprofessional though and there was no reason for him to behave the way he did. It wasn't a single comment: it was 10 hours of persistent comments. It really put a damper on our day. Also, despite his comments about our speed: we reached the van at 6:30 and departed at 6:50, 10 minutes ahead of the scheduled departure. We do want to give a shoutout to Sam, however. He was so kind and he was actively telling Mauricio that my wife was fine to make the summit. We walked by him in the park 2 days later and he waved enthusiastically to get our attention. One other small comment is that the guides could provide a bit more info on things. Largely, they just bring you places, but don't explain much about the flora, fauna, geography, etc. That seemed to be the case with other tour companies we use in Chile, however. When traveling to other countries we've received a lot more education during tours. Our driver was also good. Much safer than other tour drivers we had/witnessed in Chile. Summary: great tour, great company, but get rid of Mauricio. We hope we never see him again.

I had a fantastic time on this hike with Milla! I was really nervous going into it solo but we laughed and talked the whole time, and she was also very knowledgeable regarding various questions I had about local vegetation and geography. I highly recommend!

Sometimes you have a tour with a nice, polite guide and you feel afterwards “Well, that was a nice tour”. But sometimes (very rare) you have a guide like Miguel. And it feels so special that next day you feel sad you’ll never see this wonderful person again. This was much more than “formal” friendly attitude. Me and my husband felt like we were hiking with a friend because he’s such a warm and open person. This is what makes travels so special — meeting local people like Miguel, chatting about each other’s cultures and having fun together. Even the hike felt much easier because we were chatting a lot and sometimes I didn’t even notice how time passed. Apart from the warmest attitude, I want to highlight Miguel’s good timing & organisational skills and empathy. E.g. before the final hiking section Miguel told us that we could go ahead with our own pace (faster than the group) if we wanted. For us it was SO important because it usually takes me around 30 minutes to take photos with my camera and then I need another 30 minutes just to sit and enjoy the place. So, thanks to Miguel’s suggestion we arrived to the top much faster and had enough time for everything. Lots of love from Russia and we hope we’ll say “privet” to each other again!

I would have given this a 5 star rating, if it wasn't for one of our two guides. The positives- hike is quite challenging as there are steep ascents while going and coming back, but the journey itself affords beautiful views of the valley, mountains, forests, and rivers. One of our guides, Joaquin, was patient and encouraging. He explained the 3 different parts of the hike and emphasized the need to listen to our body. My husband and I decided, along with another group member, that we would go as far as we can, and return if needed. The second guide, who I'm not naming, spoilt the whole experience for us! He kept asking us multiple times, if we've hiked before, even though we told him we had. Then at every break, he would remind us that we can return to the welcome center! It seemed like he was eager to get rid of anyone who was slower than the rest, even though there were 2 guides with our group. When we reached the second break spot, he told 3 of us that they had been waiting for 15 minutes for us, which was incorrect as we could see when the others reached - they were 6-7 minutes ahead of us. When someone asked him how we were doing, he said we were "slow". Not ONCE did he encourage us. All he did was put pressure on us. He kept saying the trail closes at 3. We were there at 12! I had specifically asked the company to give us a patient guide, but they put us with this person who was so impatient. We returned before the last 1 km section as Joaquin empathetically said that it would be tough on our knees. Since we did the return hike on our own, without ANY pressure, we really enjoyed it! We stopped for photographs and were able to appreciate the beauty around us, instead of rushing to get to the top.